Survival
by Satan Abraham
Summary: By a fantastic twist of fate, most of the Walkers have escaped... well... mostly unharmed. The only problem - staying alive and out of The Major's sight. Slash. Rated T for language. Parkovitch, Gavries, and Bakeraham, possibly some Janilla eventually.
1. Chapter One: Collie Parker

Parker had been half-asleep when the soldiers were killed. Really, he would've just ignored the guns if Abraham wouldn't have run past him, yelling like an idiot. Unless Baker'd been killed, he couldn't see Abraham acting like that.

But he didn't ignore the guns, and he was greeted with the _lovely_ sight of multiple dead soldiers. A group of locals were running around, waving their guns and shooting at any soldier. Almost all of the Walkers – everyone but Stebbins, who kept walking, the totally insane ones, who… well, kept walking, and Barkovitch, who just kind of stood there in shock – were running for an escape.

Parker decided to join them.

He passed Barkovitch on the way and – completely spur-of-the-moment decision, by the way, _completely_ spur-of-the-moment, if he hadn't ran past Barkovitch he wouldn't have bothered – picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. The kid was tiny, incredibly light, and it took little to no force to pick him up. Other than a short, protesting squeak, Barkovitch was silent.

_A nice change,_ Parker thought, grinning a little. Abe had hijacked a random car, and Parker made a beeline for it, throwing Barkovitch in the back seat before squeezing in himself. It was a tight fit, considering McVries and Garraty were also in there, but, hey, it worked. For the most part.

"We all in?" Abraham yelled. "Yep? Then let's go!"

Baker was in the passenger seat, grinning like a madman. Before any of them could react, he grabbed Abraham's head and kissed him.

Okay.

Well.

That was odd.

Abraham didn't seem to mind, however, he just grinned wider and hit the gas. They set off, probably hitting a few pedestrians along the way. But that didn't matter, and just then Parker realized that he was sitting down, all of them were sitting down, and it was _incredible_. He didn't even mind that he it was incredibly cramped with four people in the back seat, or that Abraham seemed to be going out of his way to find every pothole and speed bump he could, or that the person next to him was the _most annoying little prick on the planet._

"So, what are we doing now?" Garraty asked. Parker looked out the window. Nobody was chasing them – yet. He was pretty sure that, eventually, Stebbins would be declared the winner of the Walk and they'd be chased down. And then killed, if that part wasn't obvious enough already.

"Driving," Abraham said, speeding up a little. Parker rolled his eyes and tried his best to not strangle someone. The euphoria that had come with their initial escape was gone and now? Now he just wanted to strangle all of them.

He did like Abraham. And Baker. Garraty was bearable. McVries… eh… he was okay. Barkovitch… well, let's not get into that just now.

Speaking of Barkovitch, he seemed to have gotten over the initial 'why the fuck was I just picked up and dumped in a car with people who hate me?' and started talking. "Wh-"

McVries didn't agree. "Don't open your mouth or I swear I will strangle you."

Barkovitch just looked at him. "Yeah. Sure. Do it. I dare you, Scarface."

McVries lunged, and suddenly Parker found himself crushed in between two fighting Walkers and the door.

"Hey- hey- stop it!" Parker eventually yelled. They froze, McVries pinning Barkovitch down, hand on his throat. "Now. Barkobitch, you shut the fuck up. McVries… just stop. Okay? I don't wanna deal with your shit right now."

_"Barkobitch?"_

"Better than killer," Baker called back.

"Not really!"

_"Shut the fuck up."_

Barkovitch swallowed and nodded. McVries got back to his original position, glaring one last time. Parker debated sitting between them and decided against it. If they were going to fight again… yeah. He didn't want to be between that.

Parker smiled.

"Now. We're all going to be friends, and we're not going to call each other names-"

"You just-"

"And Barkovitch isn't going to talk unless we ask him a direct question. Now. I'm Collie Parker. Let's go around the circle and introduce ourselves like _the nice people we are_. Abe, you next."

"James Abraham," Abraham said, keeping his eyes on the road. Parker swore he sped up a bit. What, did he have to do that every time he talked?

"Art Baker."

"Ray Garraty."

"Peter McVries."

Barkovitch glared at them for a little bit, and finally muttered "Gary Barkovitch."

Parker smiled another strained smile and nodded. "There. Now we're all friends and, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to sleep. Abe, wake me up if you wanna sleep, I can drive."

"Okay," Abraham said. Thankfully, he didn't speed up this time.


	2. Chapter Two: Gary Barkovitch

Barkovitch was having a bad day.

There he'd been, just walking, _maybe_ muttering a little under his breath, when the soldiers had been killed. He'd been a little shocked then, and he'd been still for no more than ten seconds before the blond one – Parker, was it? Nah, Blondie worked just as well. Anyway, Blondie _had picked him up and thrown him in a car._

Oh, and did he mention the fact that the car was full of people who hated him? No? Well, there was that too. And it really didn't help that he'd been thrown into _Scarface_, of all people. Garraty'd probably be a little forgiving for something he hadn't done, but Scarface was still going on about the Rank thing and- and- _everything_.

Oh, and Scarface had also attacked him. For no reason whatsoever. And now Barkovitch's eye was swelling up and it _hurt_, goddammit.

There was another issue at hand – he was crushed between Blondie and Scarface. Blondie didn't particularly like him – yeah, it was Parker, Collie Parker who had told him that he'd 'pull his fucking nose off and make him eat it', and Scarface, as shown by that lovely display of 'i'm going to strangle you', fucking hated him.

Life was certainly _wonderful_ at the moment.

Everyone was ignoring him at the moment, like they tended to do. Abraham and Baker were talking in low voices up in the front. Garraty and McVries were sleeping, leaning on each other. Parker had said he was going to go to sleep, but instead was just staring out the window. Barkovitch sighed and slumped down in the seat, arms crossed over his chest.

Eventually, he gave into his drooping eyelids and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter Three: Collie Parker

Parker woke up with the little prick sleeping on him.

It had taken him a while to fall asleep in the first place – despite his initial tiredness, it seemed like he couldn't do much more than stare out the window and eavesdrop on Baker and Abraham's conversation. Something about Abraham owing Baker money or something, and 'now even more because of that kiss I so lovingly gave you.' But eventually he fell asleep, and when he woke up it was night. The car was kind of swerving all over the road, Abraham half-asleep and still driving.

"Fuck, Abe, you coulda woken me up," Parker muttered. Abraham gave him the finger and parked the car. Parker shoved Barkovitch off of his shoulder and onto McVries's – a little entertainment would be good, hopefully McVries'd wake up first. "Shit, it's dark."

"Yeah… it's around one," Abraham said, yawning and nearly falling out of the driver's seat. "Baker fell asleep around ten, and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep too, because we went into the ditch a few times. But, hey, nobody's dead…. Right?"

"They were all breathing when I was back there," Parker said, holding back a yawn. "Hey, do you know where we're going?"

Abraham didn't reply. When Parker looked back he was sleeping, leaning on Barkovitch. They looked like a… like a thing of dominoes, all leaning up against each other. Except Garraty, who should be leaning against the door, but was instead leaning on McVries.

Parker shook his head and began to drive.

At around eight, McVries woke up. "Why the- get off of me, killer!"

Parker parked the car on the side of the road and looked back. Barkovitch was waking up, looking extraordinarily childlike. He yawned, and the next thing that came out of his mouth completely ruined the picture. "Fuck off, Scarface. I'm hungry."

His stomach rumbled at this and he glanced around at the others. Yeah, they all looked pretty gaunt. "Anyone got any money? There's a Dairy Queen a little ways away. I think…" Parker dug around in his pocket and came up with a five dollar bill. "I've got a five."

"Can we contemplate turning ourselves in for killing a guy?" Abraham murmured, digging his face deeper into Barkovitch's shoulder.

"What do you _do_ in your personal time?" McVries asked, looking appalled. Abraham smiled and didn't answer. "Anyway, um… I've got fifteen."

Barkovitch glared at all of them, as seemed to be routine, and pulled a twenty out of his pocket. McVries grabbed it and handed it to Parker. Barkovitch opened his mouth, seemed to think better of it, and slouched down into his seat. He seemed to be ignoring the half-conscious Abraham.

"Wake up Garraty and Abe. I'll try getting Baker-"

"No need," Baker said, smiling and rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "A dollar twenty-two."

"I've got this," Abraham said, suddenly awake. He handed Parker a wad of ones. "Dunno how much that is. Found it in my sweatshirt."

Nothing really eventful happened until they had their food. Abraham had switched to sit up in the driver's seat, leaving Parker crushed in the back again. Parker probably wouldn't have agreed to it, but Baker had been giving him those damn puppy-dog eyes, and even a straight guy wouldn't be able to resist those. 'Course, Baker looked kinda like a girl anyway – he was incredibly pretty for a guy.

Parker didn't know what had happened next – something happened, maybe an elbow hit him or something in their feeding frenzy, but the next thing he knew Barkovitch was back to his old nasty self. "Watch where you're putting your arm, scarface," he snarled, receiving a slap to the back of the head for his trouble.

Unfortunately, this slap to the back of the head came as soon as he took a bite, causing him to turn a rather lovely shade of purple as he choked. They all just sat there for a while. "So…"

"What do we do now?"

"Is he dying?"

"He'll be fine, I think…"

Eventually Barkovitch managed to swallow and glared at them – surprise, surprise – through watering eyes. "Thanks for that," he said. "I really love to choke right after I wake up."

Parker rolled his eyes. "Get over it," he said. Barkovitch glared. He seemed more uncomfortable than usual – either it was the fact that he was crushed in a car with people who hated him, or… just the fact that he was crushed in between to people that were both quite larger than him.

Or both.

Yeah, it was probably both.

Abraham started to drive again. Parker would've fallen asleep, had it not been for Barkovitch's rather sharp elbow digging into his side. "God, Barkovitch, move over," he muttered, shoving him toward McVries, who shoved him right back.

"I don't want him any more than you do."

"You seem to be pretty cozy with Garraty, scoot over closer to him."

"If you haven't noticed, Garraty's almost falling out as it is."

"I am too!"

"Stop touching me!"

They all paused, Parker's hands still on Barkovitch's shoulder. The boy in question was pale, eyes closed, hands balled into fists. He looked like he was either scared or about to kill them all. Probably the latter. Barkovitch took a deep breath.

"You all hate me. I get that. But can you not shove me around like a- like a-"

"Like a sack of flour?" Parker suggested.

"Sure, whatever. But- don't. Please?"

Everyone was silent. Abraham turned around, still driving. "Did you seriously just say _please_?" he asked.

"Abe you're going to kill us!" Baker yelped, jerking the wheel to the side. The car was narrowly missed by a passing truck.

"Sorry," Abraham said, returning to his driving.

McVries seemed to have nothing more to say on the matter. Barkovitch glanced around and slouched down in his seat, arms crossed over his chest. Parker rested an elbow on his head. "Good job, kid. Soon you'll have better social graces than a boiled potato."

_"What?"_

"No talking unless there's a direct question."


	4. Chapter Four: Abraham

They stopped at a park near lunch. After Barkovitch's weird little outburst that had nearly gotten them killed – okay, maybe it was Abraham's driving that had nearly gotten them killed, but everyone blamed Barkovitch for everything anyway – it had been nearly silent. He'd talked to Baker a bit, Parker had used Barkovitch as an armrest and looked out the window, and McVries and Garraty had slept.

The park was standard fare – a bunch of trees, picnic tables, and a broken-down swingset that looked like if anyone over fifty pounds would try and use it, it would snap. There was also a… wooden thing… that McVries and Garraty made a beeline for, sitting at the top and talking.

Abraham dug through the trunk of the car they'd 'borrowed', looking for maybe some food or money or something. He found a pack of Saltines and passed them around the table.

"So, what are we doing now?" Parker asked, leaning across the table. His face was inches away from Abraham's. Abraham leaned away slightly. "We going to some dipshit state and hiding out, or are we…?"

Abraham looked over at Baker, who shrugged. Barkovitch, who was laying on the ground under a tree, spoke up. "What does it matter what we do? We're going to die. They're going to find us, and we're going to die."

"Who says we are?" Parker asked, switching his gaze from Abraham to Barkovitch. "What if we go to… Canada or somethin'?"

Barkovitch snorted. "Yeah. Canada. And how are we getting through the border, huh? Sure, we could probably be okay over there. But that means getting past the soldiers."

Parker stood up and walked over to where Barkovitch lay. Barkovitch just looked at him.

"You don't know what you're talking about. We're going to fine, do you hear me? Fucking fine. I don't know why I grabbed you, but I saved your fucking _life_. And if you're going to complain about it, you can just leave," he paused, taking a deep breath. "That's right. Leave. Get outta here."

Barkovitch glared at him and stood up, brushing pine needles off of his pants and walking away.

"Shit, I didn't actually think he'd do it," Parker said. "Hey! You! Get back here!"

Barkovitch didn't even look back. Abraham watched with interest as Parker _chased the prick down and tackled him._ And then carried him back to the group, Barkovitch swearing and spitting out pine needles. "What- you told me to _leave_, why-"

"Shut up," Parker said, keeping a firm grip on Barkovitch's collar and shoving the pack of Saltines at him. "And eat your crackers."

Abraham snorted. "There's something wrong with you, Parker, you know that, right?" he asked.

"There's nothin' wrong with me. He just takes things way too seriously," Parker said. "Seriously, kid, you need to loosen up."

"Oh, yes, loosening up around strangers who hate me is a wonderful idea," Barkovitch muttered. "Just a wonderful idea."


	5. Chapter Five: Gary Barkovitch

And now his tongue was bleeding because of the multiple pine needles that had stuck in it when Parker had _fucking tackled him_ for _trying to leave._ Oh, and Parker had been the one to tell him to leave. And was now holding onto him to make sure he didn't ever get away.

McVries and Garraty had joined them. They'd been up on this wooden thing, talking. And now Barkovitch was crushed in-between Parker and McVries again, because of Abraham's and Baker's annoying talent to take up an entire side of a bench entirely by themselves.

Barkovitch wasn't the happiest at the moment, to say the least. It wasn't as bad as the car, but he still didn't like being crushed into tight spaces, _especially when surrounded by other people. _"So, what do we do now?" Garraty asked, breaking the silence.

Abraham yawned. "I'm tired. Let's sleep."

"Can we get ice cream?" Baker asked, glancing around. "No? Nobody wants ice cream?"

"We don't have anything to buy the ice cream with. I mean, we've got the money from before, but we should save that for… gas or something," Parker pointed out. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't feel like smuggling a gallon of ice cream out of a grocery under my shirt."

"Maybe if we help out with something, they'll give us ice cream – or any food, really – and then, you know, we can eat," Baker said, looking hopefully at Abraham. "Sorry, Abe, but the crackers aren't really cutting it."

Abraham shrugged. Barkovitch rolled his eyes. "Also, does anyone else feel the intense need to shower?" McVries asked. "There's got to be someone with a hose around here."

"And what happens when we run out of gas?" Garraty wondered, standing up and pacing. "I mean, are we just going to start walking? Where are we, anyway?"

None of them had any answers. Barkovitch shifted and Parker's grip tightened on his collar. "Relax, Blondie, I'm not going anywhere," he hissed. Parker rolled his eyes.

"Blondie? Really? That the best you can come up with?"


	6. Chapter Six: Stebbins

Sitting down felt wonderful.

He had won the Walk, like he'd figured he would. He was sitting down, and… and he was being taken into his father's house. He honestly hadn't thought the Prize would cover something like that, but, then again, it was the Prize. It was anything.

His father sat in the car as well, just a foot or so away. "Is there anything else you'd like?"

Stebbins swallowed.

He should be asking that the Walkers that had escaped could be left alone.

Or about Scramm's wife, couldn't forget about her.

"I… the other Walkers," Stebbins said. "What's going to happen to them?"

His father looked at him for a long while, so long that Stebbins dropped his gaze and stared down at his hands. "What do you think will happen?"

"They're going to be hunted, aren't they?"


	7. Chapter Seven: Collie Parker

"We're low on gas," Abraham announced after another ten minutes of driving.

Parker sighed and rested his elbow on Barkovitch's head again. He made a pretty good armrest, seeing how he was pretty short and slouched to top it off. If only his hair wasn't unwashed from nights on the road. It was still soft, but…

Okay, his thoughts were turning weird.

"So, who's going to go in to pay for the gas? Or are we just going to take off right after we take it?" McVries wondered. "I mean, we're already condemned, why not?"

"Sounds good," Abraham said, shrugging. "Oh, and we could drop off Barkovitch-"

"What?" Barkovitch said, looking insulted. Parker dug his elbow into the smaller boy's head, and Barkovitch jerked away.

"Shut up and let me finish," Abraham said, turning to glare. And nearly killing them again. "Shit, um, what I was going to say – drop off Barkovitch and Parker a little ways away so they can go get us some food. Cheap stuff."

"Ice cream?"

"No, Art, that'd melt."

Parker snorted, moved Barkovitch over so that he could continue to use him as an armrest, and pointed. "Well, there's a gas station up there, right next to a grocery store, so if you're planning on dropping us off, you might as well do it now."

Abraham nodded and pulled over. Parker stepped out of the car, dragging Barkovitch behind him. He winced as his feet met the concrete. "Damn," he muttered under his breath. "I hate walking."

"Can you let go of me?"

Parker glanced at Barkovitch, who was actually standing on his tiptoes so that Parker wouldn't strangle him. "Oh, yeah, sorry," he said, letting go of the kid. Barkovitch rubbed his neck but, surprisingly, didn't glare all that much. "So, ready to go on a wonderful adventure in the… um… grocery store?"

Barkovitch rolled his eyes.

Parker didn't blame him.


	8. Chapter Eight: Stebbins

Stebbins yawned and just laid there for a little bit, staring up at the ceiling. At his request, him and his mother had been brought into the Major's house – _his father's house_ – and, Stebbins figured, were staying for a while.

Stebbins's room was nice, sort of. It didn't have much, just an extremely large bed and an empty bookcase.

Once again, he wondered what would happen to the others.

As silly as it sounded, he didn't want Garraty (and all of the others, he supposed) to die. He had enjoyed watching them interact with each other, and confusing Garraty had been one of his favorite activities to partake in. He'd even sort of liked Barkovitch and Collie Parker.

"Alan."

Stebbins sat up. His mother stood at his door, clutching a bag in her hand. "Hm?"

"I don't want to stay here. I know-" she cut herself off, looking at the floor. "I know you wanted to be acknowledged by him, but…"

Stebbins nodded and glanced at his clothes. They'd been washed, and everything the other walkers had left behind was there as well. There was a rainhat, a few shoes, and more sweatshirts than he could count.

"Okay," he said. "Okay."

He was going to find the other Walkers and save them.

Probably.


	9. Chapter Nine: Abraham & Ray Garraty

"Go! Go! Go!" Baker yelled. Abraham jumped in the car and drove off, glancing back at McVries and Garraty. Garraty was still asleep, but McVries was looking out the back window, watching through wide, excited eyes.

"So, are we going to get the other ones, or…?" Abraham asked, pulling into an alley. "I mean, I kinda liked Parker."

"Besides, they do have food," McVries pointed out. "And Parker had the money."

"I'll go find 'm," Garraty said, opening the door and wincing as soon as his foot met the ground. "Ow."

"Sore?" McVries asked. Garraty nodded and left.

McVries stretched out across the back seat, yawning. "Wake me up when they get back."

* * *

Garraty walked as quickly as he could, not looking at anyone. The grocery was only a little bit away, but his feet still hurt. At the park they hadn't hurt that much, but now they'd seriously stiffened up. But they'd be okay in time. And hopefully at some time they could find a shower and some fresh clothes. Maybe if they figured out where they were, they could find family of one of them. He was from Maine, and they definitely weren't there. Parker was 'Illy-noy', McVries was New Jersey, Barkovitch was Washington, D.C…

They should probably try for McVries's or Barkovitch's home.

Weirdly enough, when he got to the grocery, Barkovitch and Parker were having a conversation. It looked like they actually kind of liked each other. Like they were friends. Garraty blinked. Well. There's a twist in the plot.

"They're hiding out in an alley," Garraty said. Parker snorted and adjusted his grip on his bag.

"Nice," he said, rolling his eyes.


	10. Chapter Ten: Peter McVries

Peter McVries was generally a sort of nice person. He was nice to people he liked – Garraty, Baker, people like that. He really only didn't like Barkovitch – even Parker was OK. But if there was one person he really didn't want to see _ever again in the near future_, it was Priscilla.

They decided to go to a park to eat again. They split themselves between a few picnic tables this time, Baker and Abraham claiming an entire table for themselves. They seemed to be having a pretty serious discussion that McVries figured wouldn't be very fun to listen to. Something about 'I feel really weird ever since I kissed you and this is really weird but-' and stuff like that.

So, he there he was, sitting across from Parker, minding his own business, when she showed up.

"Pete?"

He knew who it was before he turned around. Priscilla. Of course.

She looked the same as ever, of course. The most beautiful girl in the world, with long, dark curly hair and dark brown eyes. She looked incredibly shocked; he even saw her purse on the ground where she'd dropped it.

"Hey, Pris," he said, swallowing. Garraty put a hand on his arm. He shrugged it off, looking at Garraty with a look that he hoped said 'I'm fine' and not 'I'm going to fucking murder someone.'

"B-but, you're- I thought you were dead." She was crying now, and McVries felt the old urge to reach out and hug her, but he stayed where he was. "I- of course they covered you six jumping into the car, but I figured-"

"Wouldn't you think they'd show it if we were dead?" McVries said. Priscilla looked at him for a little bit, then crouched down to pick up her purse.

"Look, if she can get us a place to stay the night, I don't care if she's the one that cut your fucking face open," Parker hissed, leaning in close. Garraty glared at him.

"She _is_ the one that cut his face open," he said.

McVries stood up, glancing back at everyone. Baker and Abraham had stopped their discussion and were watching the situation with wide eyes. Barkovitch was taking the opportunity to eat as much of the food as possible while everyone was looking the other way. Both Parker and Garraty were watching him.

"Could we maybe spend the night at your place?" he asked stiffly. She looked at all of them, and an expression of pity flickered across her face.

"Just one night," she said.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Priscilla

Priscilla had no idea what she was doing.

She'd been going for a quick walk when she saw _him_ – the boy she'd thought was dead, the boy she'd hurt. He wasn't alone, either, he was with five other boys. She was sure they were from the Walk as well, if their appearances were anything to go by. Either that or they were homeless.

And now she was sandwiched in-between two of them, giving directions to the ginger on how to get to her apartment. She was in the front, and it was uncomfortable, even with the one in the striped shirt giving her half of his seat.

Peter was in the back, with one of the other boys sleeping on him. She'd seen the looks Peter had given the boy. She recognized them. They were the kind of looks he used to give her.

The other two boys in the car, the small dark one and the big blond, she didn't have much of an opinion on. She didn't actually have much of an opinion on any of them except Peter.

The car ride was silent.

Once they got to her apartment, Priscilla ignored the looks people gave her. She'd gotten the same looks the day after Peter had staggered down, face bleeding and bruised. Now she was leading a group of battered, homeless-looking teenage boys up to her apartment.

People probably thought she was a sick person.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Gary Barkovitch

Barkovitch had immense respect for this girl, and most of that was due to the fact that she'd cut McVries's face open. There was the other part, you know, the part where she was really, really pretty, but that didn't matter.

That much.

It was also nice that she was letting them stay. Barkovitch probably would've fucked this up, too, except Parker had told him to, quote, 'keep his fucking mouth shut or he'd be lucky if he had any teeth left.' Barkovitch was pretty sure Parker would keep good on this threat. So, he shut up. And now all of them were asleep – Abraham and Baker crushed together on the couch, Garraty and Scarface curled up in a corner, Parker spread out in the middle of the floor, and him.

He couldn't sleep, so instead chose to sit with his back to the wall, knees pulled to his chest. Parker's hand was a few inches away from his foot, and for a moment he had the instinct to step on it. Then he remembered that Parker would probably murder him if he did so.

The girl – Priscilla – came out of her bedroom. She was wearing a tanktop, pajama pants and, Barkovitch realized with a sort of horrific wonder, no bra. He averted his gaze. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Damn it. Barkovitch looked up at her and nodded. She sat down beside him, and he felt his face heat up.

"You don't talk much," she said. Barkovitch snorted before he could stop himself. "What?"

"I talk plenty. I just fuck things up when I do, so I don't," he paused, glancing at Parker. "I may have been threatened to keep my mouth shut."

She nodded. "Are you hungry?"

Barkovitch nodded and she stood up, grabbing his hand and pulling him up as well. He stumbled after her to the fridge, nearly tripping over Parker's arm. She handed him an apple and watched him.

He was really feeling a bit self-conscious at the moment.

He took a bite, and she chose that precise moment to talk. "Peter doesn't like you."

Barkovitch choked, swallowing as soon as he could. "Nope."

"I can't understand why."

"Because I always get off on the wrong foot," Barkovitch said, shrugging. "Nobody likes me. Nobody ever has." He took a deep breath, glancing at the others.

Priscilla nodded and kept watching him. She was a little bit taller than him – not too much, just half an inch or so, but it was still a little annoying. He wished he would grow. He was sixteen years old and barely five foot seven, rounding up – she was pretty tall for a girl, but still. He was short.

McVries took that moment to wake up, and as soon as he did, Priscilla kissed Barkovitch. Barkovitch dropped the apple and his mind went blank. Out of the corner of his eye he saw McVries getting up, and in the back of his mind he realized that this was probably not a good thing.

He definitely realized it when McVries shoved him against the fridge and started hitting him.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: ParkerMcVriesPearson

Collie Parker woke to a scene he didn't usually wake up to.

McVries had Barkovitch up against the fridge and was hitting him. Barkovitch was trying to shield his face as much as he could, but he really wasn't doing much good.

Abraham fell off the couch and started for the group. Parker and Baker followed. Garraty sat there, looking shocked.

Baker and Abraham pulled McVries away from Barkovitch, who fell. Parker just managed to catch him.

"What the hell're you doing?" he said. McVries looked at him.

"They were-"

"I don't care what they were doing, it's none of your business anymore! If she cut your fucking face open, she doesn't want anything to do with you anymore!"

* * *

Peter McVries ended up in the bathroom, sitting on the floor, trying to get a hold on himself.

He didn't _want_ Priscilla back. But that damn Barkovitch shouldn't get her either.

The door opened and Garraty slipped in, looking at him. He managed a sort-of smile.

"What's going on?"

McVries's smile disappeared.

"What's going on? _What's going on? _I wake up and she's _kissing_ him, that bitch is kissing the little prick, and he just- how can-" he was stumbling over his words now, and standing, though he didn't remember getting up. "They don't- they don't deserve _anyone_ to like them. If I-"

Garraty was quiet, and somehow that made it worse. McVries just stared at him. For once, he didn't have anything to say.

So he did what he'd wanted to do since he met the kid.

He kissed him.

* * *

Pearson was in a trunk.

Not any trunk – the trunk of Stebbins's mother's car. He was planning on waiting there until they got back to wherever they lived… hopefully they'd have to get something out of the trunk, because otherwise he would probably suffocate, die, and give them a nice surprise when they went out to get groceries.

* * *

Garraty was staring at him. They'd been standing in the bathroom for a few minutes after McVries had kissed him, and there hadn't been a word between them since. McVries averted his gaze.

There was something in the garbage. McVries, not particularly interested in digging around in Priscilla's garbage can, bent over to look.

"What is it?" Garraty asked.

"She's pregnant."


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Art Baker

"Money, money we'll need, I can withdraw it from the bank, I'll go do that now, good-bye, feel free to take a shower. Oh, I can buy you some new clothes, too, good-bye," Priscilla said. She was out the door before any of them could say anything.

McVries and Garraty still hadn't come out of the bathroom. They'd gone into the room five hours ago – it was eight o'clock now. Barkovitch was sleeping on the couch. Parker was digging through the fridge. As soon as Priscilla had left, Abraham had started exploring. As for Baker, he was standing there awkwardly, completely unsure of what to do.

After a few more minutes of awkwardly standing there, Garraty and McVries came out of the bathroom. They looked like they were hiding something, but Baker didn't want to bother them about it. There was enough going on at the moment.

"Where's Priscilla?" McVries asked.

"She went to go get money out of the bank. Oh, and to buy us new clothes," Baker said. McVries looked confused.

"That's weird. Pris doesn't usually buy clothes for six teenage boys – and she sure as hell never takes any money out of the bank. How long were we in there, anyway?"

"Five hours," Parker said. "What the fuck was going on in there?"

"Uh…"

"If you're queer we're fine with that, we were fine with Baker and Abe," Parker said. "Besides, everyone knew already."

Barkovitch took that moment to wake up. He'd done a better job than it had originally seemed at protecting his face – sure, he was bruised up and his lower lip was kind of swollen, but he wasn't nearly as hurt as he'd originally seemed. Parker tossed an apple to him, and he just barely managed to catch it.

"Because this bastard didn't let you finish your other one," he said. Barkovitch blinked – he was extremely quiet this morning – and looked a bit surprised, as if he wasn't used to people being nice to him.

_Well, Art, you were never very nice to him, were you? You weren't outright mean like most of the others, but you were never nice. You heard him talking to Garraty that one time – he's never had friends. _

And then Abraham was back, looking extremely freaked out. "Yeah, uh, the girl we're staying with? She's pregnant."


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Stebbins

"Wait- stop," Stebbins said. There was a girl standing on the side of the road. She had long [blank] hair that blew across her face, making it hard to make out any other features. His mother slowed, but didn't stop. "Please."

Once they stopped and Stebbins rolled down his window, the girl ran over. "Hi," she said. She was a little out of breath. "Oh, you're the winner. The one who won the Walk, right?"

Stebbins nodded, and she smiled.

"I'm Jan. Um, I'm kind of looking for my boyfriend. Ray – did you know him? Ray Garraty."

So this was Garraty's girlfriend. Stebbins wondered if McVries had made a move on Garraty yet – more than he had on the Walk, anyway. Now that they were away from the road and could do things…

"I'm looking for your boyfriend, too," Stebbins said. "I did know him – Ray Garraty, Maine's Own."

"Could- could I come with you?" Jan asked. Stebbins nodded.

"You can put your bag in the trunk." Despite the fact that his feet still ached, he got out and helped the girl. It was just manners.

Once they opened the trunk, they were faced with a sleeping Pearson.

Stebbins jumped. The girl looked a bit freaked out, but instead of screaming, she looked closer. "At least he's not dead."

"That's… Pearson. Number seventy-five, I believe," Stebbins said. He shook Pearson's shoulder. The bespectacled boy opened his eyes, yawning.

"Oh. Good. You found me before I died."


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Collie Parker

"Barkovitch! Get out of the fucking shower before I come in there and get you out! And it will not be fun!" Parker yelled, pounding on the door. He couldn't hear the little prick's response, but he was pretty sure it wasn't nice. He sighed.

_I'll wait five more minutes, _Parker said. _Give him time to dry off and get dressed. Maybe two. Or thirty seconds. Fuck it, I'm going in._

The door was locked, but that problem was solved easy with Abraham's help. Parker could open a locked door easy, but, as much as he hated to admit it, Abe was much faster.

To his credit, Barkovitch was out of the shower. And he did have pants on. That didn't stop him from jumping, slipping on the slightly wet floor, and hitting his head against the sink.

"Shit," Parker muttered. Barkovitch looked slightly dazed, and he wasn't complaining about Parker barging in on him. Which probably meant that something was wrong.

Collie Parker hadn't thought that he'd carry Gary Barkovitch once, let alone twice. And this time it was less of a 'I'm just going to throw you over my shoulder reflex' type of thing, it was more of a 'you're probably going to break if I'm even a little rough with you, fuck you're accident-prone. Or injury-prone. Since the McVries thing wasn't an accident.'

"I think I hurt him," Parker said. Abraham looked at the shirtless Barkovitch in Parker's arms and snorted.

"Definitely something wrong with the both of you."


	17. Chapter Seventeen: PriscillaStebbins

Priscilla was packing.

She was going to go with them. She'd decided it. She'd put on a pair of jeans and a tanktop, pulled her hair into a ponytail, all she needed to do was pack some clothes and she was good to go.

"What are you doing?"

Peter. Priscilla jumped and looked at him. "Packing. I'm coming with you."

"Do you have a death wish?" Peter asked. "If you're just coming because of Barkovitch-"

"I'm coming because-"

"For Chrissake Priscilla, you're pregnant! Why the hell are you planning on running around the country with a bunch of teenage boys, trying not to die? Who's the father, anyway?"

Priscilla swallowed. She didn't want to tell him, but she had a feeling he wouldn't leave her alone until she did. "Shortly after I- shortly after you left, I got fired," she said. "I had to… I had to get a… less than desirable profession until I could get a new job."

"So you were a whore. A prostitute," Peter said. There was no emotion in his voice. "You don't know who the dad is."

"No. No, I do. I… he… he was able to give me this apartment, and I found a new job. I know it was him."

"Who?"

"It was The Major."

* * *

After his mother had been dropped off at home, Stebbins, Jan, and Pearson set off.

Pearson slept most of the time, stretching out across the backseat. Jan was surprisingly happy. Stebbins was actually sort of having fun. It was a weird feeling.

"So, what are we going to do when we find Ray?" Jan asked. Pearson yawned and sat up.

"Leave the country? I mean, I would like to go home first, but I'm pretty sure they'll have people watching the house. Even though it is in North Dakota," he said.

"I want to kill him," Stebbins said quietly. Both Jan and Pearson looked startled.

"What?"

"Not Garraty. The Major. I want to kill him."

* * *

Peter McVries was not in a good mood.

The Major, The _fucking _Major was the father of Priscilla's baby. Garraty, even though he thought he was acting the same, was a little weirded out by the whole kiss thing in the bathroom. Only Barkovitch was being okay, but that was because McVries was pretty sure he had a concussion. At the moment, Abraham and Parker were trying to see how many things they could throw at him until he could manage to catch one. He'd nearly got one of Priscilla's books. Unfortunately, he hadn't, and it had been a rather large hardcover.

After this Abraham had disappeared into a closet with a plate of food and Baker.

McVries didn't want to think about what was going on in there.

At that moment Priscilla exited her bedroom, carrying a suitcase. "Okay, we can leave now."


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Abraham

They'd ended up finding a creepy van. Abraham drove, as usual, with Baker in the passenger seat. In the middle row of seats was Parker, Barkovitch – whose nose had finally stopped bleeding from that book – and Priscilla. Garraty and McVries took up the backseat.

In all, they were in a fairly good mood. Except McVries, who kept muttering and glaring at the middle row. Garraty was sitting pretty far away from McVries. Barkovitch was sleeping, head resting on Parker's shoulder. Priscilla seemed nervous.

Okay, maybe it was just Parker, Abraham, and Baker that were in a good mood.

"Can we get ice cream now?" Baker asked. Abraham rolled his eyes.

"Okay, fine. Someone give me some money so I can get Art some ice cream," he said. Parker handed up some money, and Abraham stopped in front of a grocery store.

They ended up getting a gallon of chocolate and a thing of plastic spoons. Abe was pretty sure they'd break, but he didn't mention that to Baker, who was looking at the ice cream like it was God.

"Baker, switch with Priscilla so you can share," Parker said immediately. They balanced the ice cream on Barkovitch's lap, Baker handing a spoonful up to Abraham every once in a while. Garraty or McVries would lean over Barkovitch at random intervals to get some for themselves, and McVries was leaning over Barkovitch when he woke up.

"Holy shit what is going on," he said in one breath, shrinking away from McVries's chest. McVries took his ice cream and went back to the backseat. "Ow. My head hurts."

"Yeah… sorry about that… at least your nose isn't bleeding anymore…" Parker said, laughing a little.

_"What?" _


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Parker and Abraham

The seven of them stopped at a hotel for the night.

Parker was pretty sure that if they wanted to, you know, _not fucking die_, they should keep driving, but he wasn't the one making the rules.

The room they got had two beds. Priscilla got one and, because he might have a concussion, Barkovitch got the other.

Barkovitch went to sleep almost immediately while the others stayed awake to 'discuss strategy' or some shit like that. Parker sat on the end of Barkovitch's bed with his shirt off, playing with a rubber band. He was seeing how close he could get it to Barkovitch's face without waking him up. His game ended when it hit Barkovitch in the eye and Barkovitch muttered something under his breath and kept the rubber band. Well, at least he hadn't freaked out. Probably too tired to.

* * *

"They're both going to freak out in the morning," Abraham said, watching Parker and Barkovitch, who were unconsciously moving closer together. After Parker's failed attempt to get his rubber band back he'd taken off his pants and slipped under the covers beside Barkovitch. He still had his underwear on.

Probably.

"Maybe…" Baker said, looking a little skeptical. "They've been getting closer, though."

"Not _that _close."

"True."


	20. Chapter Twenty: Gary Barkovitch

Barkovitch had no idea what was going on.

Yesterday was all a blur. He faintly remembered ice cream and rubber bands, for some reason. Apparently he'd gone to sleep fully clothed, which was good, because he was sleeping extremely close in the same bed as Parker.

Who was just in his underwear.

Barkovitch glanced over at the clock. Three A.M. Great.

He attempted to move a little further away from Parker and nearly fell off of the bed. After a few more minutes of lying uncomfortably on his stomach with the button on his jeans digging into his flesh, he decided to take them off. He was still more clothed than Parker. It would be fine.

Parker, who was taking up most of the bed, managed to hook an arm around Barkovitch's shoulders and drag him back. Barkovitch struggled, but not much – he was kind of cold, and Parker was actually really comfortable – and they ended up closer than they'd been before.

He woke up an hour later to Parker kissing him.

He was fairly certain Parker was still asleep.

It didn't make it any less weird.

The biggest problem with this was the fact that he was kind of trapped. Parker had effectively pinned him to the bed and maybe it had just been an accident. But then Parker opened his eyes, realized the situation, _and kept kissing him._

Barkovitch managed to wriggle partly free. "What are you _doing_?" he asked. Parker blinked.

"I don't know," he said. "But it's fun."

"_What?" _

Parker smirked.

* * *

**Alright. The last bit of The Long Walk spam. I swear.**


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